To all who finished the game...

[jack1974]

Thanks, some random notes about your post:
- on next update I've reduced the amount of attempts in the slaves fights when looking for assassin
- originally Riley's quest was like that: you could do a stunt and have 30% chances of failing, but if you were successful you skipped the fight completely. Then some forum users complained that it was too random and not based on players' skills. I am not sure that I made the right move doing the requested change...
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Spoiler:

Chalassa wants to go to Ninim since she needs to kill shapeshifters

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Spoiler:

the wolf Artas will have a big role in the DLC we're planning for next year

- I liked the map too, so I'll try to use on next games too (not sure about Loren 2 since will have lots of texts)
- yeah I think 8 characters in a party is good enough to get to know them well. I am a bit dubious about the insane Loren 2 big party, I think maybe even in this case listening too much to fans (who wanted 1500 romanceable characters ) wasn't a good move
- the Empire is away from home but has small outposts in Zoltar too. Even in Ninim the guards (Daronas) come from the Empire. The outposts doesn't mean they control the territories though
- the yuri zombie game will be ready soon! (no not really, was a joke!)

[Troyen]

I'll check the slaves tonight. I think of all the parts in the game, that would be the one that would most benefit from reduced defense, but higher offense.

I think a better way to address Riley's quest would be to curve the randomness so it averages out to 3-4 successes, just potentially in different spots on each play-through. Maybe if you succeed once, the next attempt you have half the chance of success. And if you fail one, the next attempt you get double the chance of success (cumulative). That way you can pull off cool stunts, but since it's Riley, they don't always work.

Spoiler:

Well, she could've lied and said "I want to hang out with you guys some more!" Also, a happy ending nitpick: she has a line near the end where she's upset that Althea shared her secret and now everyone will hate her. Except, Althea shared her secret a month ago (or more) and everyone has been hanging around her the whole time without noticeable (in-game) problems. And, she was there when everyone forgave Krimm.

I don't think I mentioned the minigames. Rowinda's quest minigame was a nice touch.

I'm kind of worried about the big Loren 2 party. On the first one, half the characters didn't really do anything most the game except toss in occasional one-liners to show they were still there (Dora, Sauzer, Volcano off the top of my head). I honestly think it works better with a smaller size. PS was 8 too, I believe? And even then there were 1-2 characters I didn't get to interact with all that much. We'll see how Colonial Defense goes with 16 romance-able towers.

[jack1974]

I'll check the slaves tonight. I think of all the parts in the game, that would be the one that would most benefit from reduced defense, but higher offense.

Yes true, even if in NM mode I think could cause issues (since you can't heal between battles as far as I remember).

I think a better way to address Riley's quest would be to curve the randomness so it averages out to 3-4 successes, just potentially in different spots on each play-through.

I guess I could do that indeed. I'll write it down for a future update (but still low-priority).
About Chalassa's happy ending,

Spoiler:

I think she says that, because she maybe thought that the others "hated" her, but pretended not to. I mean is probably something she is saying in a rush/worried without thinking.

I'm kind of worried about the big Loren 2 party. On the first one, half the characters didn't really do anything most the game except toss in occasional one-liners to show they were still there (Dora, Sauzer, Volcano off the top of my head). I honestly think it works better with a smaller size.

Well the biggest problem, beside the size, is to know WHO is there. That's why Loren was so problematic: if there are several battles in which the party splits (like Hammerhand scene for example), and player can choose freely, the writer must do a check for every character! so the script becomes like:
if isinparty(mesphit):
me "Gwaaaahhh!"
if isinparty(myrth):
my "Why are you doing this?"
and so on. It becomes basically impossible to make a normal conversation. However the solution could be to have 2 fixed party members in the various quests, and let the player choose the others, so writer knows that those 2 are always present, and can write some dialogues between them as the quest goes on. Or a simpler solution would be to never have the party split

[iWeasle]

I'll check the slaves tonight.

I glanced at the page and this was the first thing I saw. I know it makes sense in context but it was defiantly a double take moment .

[Troyen]

Out of curiosity, how many words was SotW?

[jack1974]

It's about 180,000 words. So yes as word count is less than Loren+expansion (that one is about 240k!) but in this case there's the gameplay that "extends the story". Well, I hope you understand what I mean

[canhur]

The game overall was rather enjoyable and challenging. However, I do not believe the story worth $30.

One of the thing I find most disappointing is the romance:
I have played Spirited Heart, Loren, and this game SoTW and the romance is really lacking in all three games. Well, I am no master of real life or literature romance but shouldn't there be some differences between the initial relationship and lover relationship? I mean the moment the MC engage into a serious relationship, and the story treats it as if nothing has happened, making the romance no different than a side story, a bonus, something players can ignore because it is not important.
When I see romance, I expect changes. I want to see other characters' opinion on the Main Character's relationship; I want to see judgement, criticism, praise, acknowledgement, blessing, their reactions toward the MC's choice of romantic companion. I'd like to see how the lovers spoil and favor each other and be a bit overprotective when making decisions like "Oh Hell No! No matter how stealthy you are, you ARE NOT going in there alone, my reckless lovely Red Head."

I am not saying the creator should add in what I want above. I am wishing that there are more to romance than just a making out scene, a proof that romance (love) make differences in the story we play.

[jack1974]

I understand, but doing what you say is really a LOT more work than you think: because we can't know who the player romanced. So on every subsequent scene after the love one, we should add a check for romances on all romanceable characters (in this case 4) and add extra lines. Or if there was a camp talk, add extra talks after the romance, but I don't think this is what you mean, since it would still look a bit "artificial".
If this was a DATING SIM, it could be maybe somehow be done/expected, since the main focus is the romance. But in a RPG is much harder, since for example some scenes can have characters excluded from a quest, etc (beside the fact that there's also a lot of work in other departments like gameplay/balancing/etc).
To be honest, I can't find any game, both indie or AAA, in which after you romance someone, the story changes in several points based on it? can you make me one example?

[jack1974]

OK asked on Twitter/around, I know what you mean, like in Dragon Ages. Will try to do that in future RPGs, requires more planning but can be done. Will do that in more "romance oriented" games like Loren 2-3. Or might try to do that also in the SOTW DLC I'm planning
In Loren I think there are some differences though if you romanced someone, like in the final scenes. But yeah probably not enough as you mention.

[canhur]

Point taken... I don't play game much, and barely any indie or with romance in it. So to my knowledge, I guess those kind of story do not exist... yet.
Still, I think there should be a bit more to make it truly feels everything in the game revolves around us, the players/main characters. Would it be unfair to use BioWare games like Mass Effect series, or Dragon Age? The main story do not change whoever the player romance with, but it does add a few dialogue and bonuses to entertain the players a bit more.

Spoiler:

This is a conversation between two companions that travel with the main character of Dragon Age 2, Hawke. The dialogue is added a bit based on the MC's current "situation."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anders: Were you trying to look at my grimoire the other day?
Merrill: Me? What? No! When?
Anders: At my clinic. While I was talking to Hawke. I saw you looking in one of my books. You know, those are private.
Merrill: I know, that's why I—Oh, fine. I admit it. I was hoping you'd have, um, dirty spells.
Anders: Dirty spells?
Merrill: You know! To, um, make things more exciting. Oh, I shouldn't have said anything.
(If Hawke is in a romance with Merrill)
Anders: More exciting? For you and Hawke?
Hawke: Stop. Just... stop right there.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(If Hawke is romancing Merrill)
Merrill: She's so amazing and beautiful. How could anyone not love him/her?
Isabela: Oh, I could give you a list, but that might just bore you.
Isabela: So... did you get naked?
Merrill: Isabela!
Isabela: Ooh, look at that blush. That good, huh?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If I remember correctly, there are also other benefits for whichever character players choose to romance. This give players more to explore in each relationship of the game and the feeling that every decision matters, which I believe is what I have missed in this game.
Again, hopefully it's not too unfair for me to use BioWare, big RPG games maker, to compare with this SOTW.